Saturday, 11 April 2015

The Pope to officially convoke the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy tomorrow

The Pope to officially convoke the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy tomorrow

Vatican City, 10 April 2015 (VIS) – At
5.30 p.m. tomorrow, Saturday 11 April, the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday,
in St. Peter's Basilica, the Pope will officially convoke the
Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy with the publication of the Bull of
Indiction, “Misericordiae vultus”. The Jubilee Bull, aside from
indicating the duration, opening and closing dates, and the main ways in
which the Holy Year will unfold, constitutes the basic document for
understanding the spirit in which it was convoked, as well as Pope
Francis' intentions and the fruit he hopes the Year will bear.

For
the proclamation, the Holy Father, accompanied by the cardinals, will
proceed to the entrance of the Vatican Basilica. At the side of the Holy
Door the Bull of Indiction will be handed to the four cardinal
archpriests of the papal basilicas of Rome: Cardinal Angelo Comastri,
archpriest of the Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican; Cardinal
Agostino Vallini, archpriest of the Basilica of St. John Lateran;
Cardinal James Michael Harvey, St. Paul Outside-the-Walls; and Cardinal
Santos Abril y Castello, archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major.

To express his wish that the
Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy will be celebrated in Rome and throughout
the world, Pope Francis will consign a copy of the Bull, to present it
symbolically to all bishops, to Cardinal Marc Ouellet P.S.S., prefect of
the Congregation for Bishops; to Cardinal Fernando Filoni, prefect of
the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples; and to Cardinal
Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches. A
copy will be received by Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai, born in Hong
Kong and now secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of
Peoples, on behalf of all the East. The African continent will be
represented by Archbishop Bartolome Adoukonou, from Benin and currently
secretary of the Pontifical Council for Culture. For the Oriental
Churches, the Holy Father will present the Bull to Msgr. Khaled Ayad
Bishay of the Patriarchal Church of Alexandria of the Copts.

The
Regent of the Papal Household, Msgr. Leonardo Sapienza, as apostolic
protonotary, will read various extracts from the official document
convoking the extraordinary Holy Year. Finally, the Holy Father will
preside at the celebration of First Vespers of Divine Mercy Sunday.

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Francis most trusted pope, Filipino survey says

A survey in the Philippines has shown that people there have greater
trust in Pope Francis than any other pontiff. The survey by Social
Weather Stations (SWS), conducted March 20-23, revealed that 87 percent
of Filipinos have "much trust" in Pope Francis, while only six percent
have "little trust". Six percent were undecided. Those surveyed
included Catholics, Muslims and Christians from other denominations.
The result, released on Wednesday, showed that Pope Francis has the
highest public trust rating in the history of SWS surveys, surpassing
the 72 percent of Pope John Paul II logged in 1995. Pope Benedict's
net trust rating was at 58 in May 2005.

Pope Francis was in the Philippines for a five-day state and pastoral
visit in January. Filipinos were greatly touched by the pontiff
braving a tropical storm to meet typhoon victims during his visit to
Tacloban City on January 17.

Feliciano Belmonte, the speaker of the Philippines’ House of
Representatives, lauded the pontiff's efforts to personally bring a
message of hope, peace and renewal to the Philippines despite the bad
weather. He said Pope Francis's call for an end to conflict in the
Philippines, "has made His Holiness a symbol of unity and promoter of
peace". "His openness to interreligious dialogue is of great
significance to the present day reality," Belmonte told ucanews.com on
Thursday. (Source: UCAN)